Feed Me Your Heart
by CodependantKlebekah
Summary: Hayley Marshall is used to being on her own. And when the world ended, not much changed. However, she soon found herself being the leader to a group of people who trusted her with their lives when she still wasn't even certain she could save her own. And how the hell is she supposed to protect them from a psychopath who wants her dead? *A Klayley The Walking Dead AU.*
1. no mercy

Hayley felt the earth softening beneath her feet with every step she took. The rain from last nights storm had caused every grassy part of Tennessee to turn to thick mud. She struggled as it tried to pull her boots in like quicksand. Every rise of her foot required extra effort, but it didn't slow her down. Not yet.

When she reached the edge of a creek she started scaling the nearest tree. The bark bit roughly into the skin of her palms, undoubtedly scrapping them bloody. Hayley used the branches to get lift herself to the highest point to could get. Theres no way she'd risk them catching her sent, she could hear the groaning getting inevitably closer by the second.

She let out a silent sigh and tried to settle in as best she could for the next hour while those _things_ made their way past the tree she was camouflaging herself in. The loud flesh hungry groaning let Hayley know they were now directly beneath her. She clenched her eyes and tried to block the noises out, exhaustion from the day finally catching up to her and seeping deep into her bones.

Hayley wished she could be angry. She wished she could scream and yell at the sky, ask some form of god why he would do this; why he would take her from her life and force her to kill walking corpses just to survive the day.

Honestly, before all this Hayley didn't have much going for her anyway. She wasn't in college and was only working as a receptionist at a veterinarian clinic seven hours a day. That wasn't really her first choice in things she had to be stuck doing all day, but it paid her bills every month and allowed her to rent a place to sleep every night.

When it was announced nationwide that the dead were walking the earth, Hayley thought that maybe some higher being was playing a joke on her. That all the steady misfortune that happened in her life was just someone having a big laugh.

She wanted to lie and say this wasn't hard for her. That killing and running didn't bother her.

But she couldn't.

She didn't even how long it had been since all of this started, but she was exhausted. Physically and mentally. She's been running and trying to survive for so long she couldn't even tell if there actually was a life before this.

When she was alone at night she allowed herself to think about a hot shower and how she wanted to be able to watch one of those reality shows she pretended not to like before. Hayley tried to nip that thought at the bud though. This was her life now wether she liked it or not. Thinking about _before_ did nothing but depress her into wishing for things she knew wasn't going to happen.

Maybe this was for the better, maybe this was better than ending up answering phone calls at the clinic until her hair greyed.

She learned to survive on her own long before this. She never had someone to take care of her or to protect her. Hayley's default setting had been switched to 'fight or flight' mode since her adoptive parents kicked her out at sixteen. Hell raising on earth just called for Hayley to tackle things differently. Instead of trying to save up money to put a down payment on an apartment; she was trying to find a way to kill a corpse without her knife getting stuck in the eye socket.

It was basically the same thing.

Hayley waited until she couldn't hear the groaning for at least twenty minutes before she finally dropped out of the tree. The corpses matted a path in the thicket heading towards her right, so she decided it was a safe bet to head left.

Climbing through all the bushes and undergrowth, she kept a sharp ear open for any indication that something was sneaking up behind her.

Hayley didn't know how long she was walking for but so far she hadn't had to kill anything so she really couldn't complain. Even in fall, the hot Tennessee sun was beating down on her & making her overheat. All signs that they got any rain last night disappeared into the suns rays. They only reminder was the humidity that made the air thicker than the mud.

Up ahead the trees started to become sparse and opened up into a small clearing, although Hayley's attention went immediately to the cabin that sat in the middle of it. Her feet began picking up a faster pace and skidded to a stop at the front door. Her right hand clenched around her knife while her left grasped the door knob.

 _Unlocked._

Hayley's eyes fell closed for a brief second. Either the god that was intent on making her life hell had decided to spare mercy on her or it was about to get a lot worse.

The door opened with a loud groaning sound and Hayley's face screwed up. Shit. She waited a full thirty-seconds before proceeding inside, knife ready and waiting. The first things her eyes took in was an old cot. The blankets were pulled back from its last inhabitants, _hopefully a while ago_.

Carefully she shut the cabin door and walked further inside. It wasn't big, only one room were everything was located & a storage closet. It was probably used as a hunting cabin.

Hayley made her way to cot, pulling back the blankets to search for anything useful. Finding nothing, she dropped to her knees and peered under the bed. Her eyes widened considerably when they skimmed over a shotgun. Eagerly, Hayley snatched it and started examining it.

Loaded. Two Shots.

Maybe mercy was being spared on her after all.

Walking forward Hayley made her way toward the kitchen portion of the room. The various empty cans were laying out on the counter made Hayley doubt this places worth for food. Just as she was going to open the cabinet something rattled in the closet and sent a spike of fear shooting through her chest. Clutching the shotgun, Hayley crept forward. The door rattled again and Hayley stopped, hand inches from the handle.

With a final determined breath Hayley threw open the door.

If this was someone else, they'd open the door and laugh to themselves as they saw a raccoon tensed up at the back of the closet.

But this was Hayley.

So as she opened the door a corpse twice the size of Hercules came barreling out and rushed straight into her.

As they fell, Hayley's head caught on the corner of the wooden table and sent a piercing pain shooting through her skull. When her and the corpse hit the floor, all the air was knocked out of her lungs and sent her into a coughing fit.

Hayley struggled to get the corpse off of her and tried to regain her breath at the same time. Desperately, she tried reaching for the shotgun that was knocked out her hands. The loud sound of snapping teeth and gurgling groans were loud in her ear and Hayley tried not to panic as the gun was kicked even farther away.

When Hayley finally got the upper hand she rolled out from underneath him & stood up on shaky legs. The corpse wasn't far behind her and came darting towards her again. Hayley moved out of the way and made a beeline for the shotgun which was closer than her knife. Just as her hands grabbed it the corpse charged into her, sending them both crashing into the wall.

Hayley fought to keep the corpses hungry teeth away from her flesh. The corpse had her pinned up against the wall, using all its weight to keep her there. With determination and desperation, Hayley shakily managed to get the barrel of the gun under the corpses chin. Without thinking for another second, she pulled the trigger.

The sound of the shotgun rang heavily in her ears and added to the already pulsating pain radiating through her head. Hayley closed her eyes and mouth as dark blood splattered across her face and neck. With a thud, the corpse fell to the ground.

 _Nice try bitch._

Her first instinct was to be relieved. Then she was panicked as she realized that the gunshot just rang the dinner bell for every corpse in a mile radius of this place. With a quick hurriedness, Hayley grabbed her backpack and threw open the kitchen cabinets.

On the shelves were three water bottles and in the next cabinet was a can of beans. Having no time to spare, she dumped them into the bag and zipped it up. After one final sweep the cabin and recruiting a just a pack of batteries and a bandana, Hayley decided she better leave fast.

The sound of branches snapping stopped her in her tracks. She wondered if she was quiet enough that the corpse would just carry on its merry way. However, with what she heard next she concluded her earlier thoughts and decided that no mercy was spared on her and things just got worse.

A lot worse.

"Im tellin' ya, I heard a gunshot."


	2. encounter

Hayley was completely and utterly fucked. She had enough experiences with people in the apocalypse to know that people just don't let you go when they stumble across you. They either take all your supplies or they kill you.

Hayley didn't favor either choice.

Honestly her day has been so bad that marching out there and kicking some ass didn't seem half bad. However, the more sensible and practical side of her told her that idea was terrible. Hayley looked around the room and debated her survival with hiding in the closet like a small child.

"Oliver, man, this place looks deserted." A different man replied.

Hayley held her breath and quickly leaned against the wall next to the front door. Her head still throbbed and she could feel the wetness of blood as it oozed out and matted her hair.

"I know what I heard. Just check the cabin with me." The first man spoke back irritably. Hayley closed her eyes and wrapped her fingers more securely around her knife, cursing herself for not grabbing the shot gun.

 _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

The door noisily pushed open and the thud of boots echoed off the wooden walls. The opened door half concealed Hayley's body and she thought perhaps she could take them down.

The two men stepped forward with caution and pointed their weapons around the room. Hayley could only see the back of them but they both had shaggy, uncut hair and adorned a t-shirt, jeans, and heavy boots.

The blond man nudged the darker haired man and pointed his gun towards the corpse on the floor.

"Its fresh. Someone was here." he informed him.

As they were distracted, Hayley took this as her chance to strike. But as she took her first step, the floor creaked under her foot. The blond haired man was half turned to her when she lunged at him and had an advantage to block her.

His hand caught her wrist in a vice, efficiently knocking her knife out of her hands and sending it skidding across the floor. With his strong hold on her arm, he slammed her body against the wall behind her simultaneously knocking the wind out of her for the second time that day and pinning her against it.

The wound from earlier throbbed in pain as her head connected with the wall. Hayley was seeing black spots as he brought his forearm to her throat and pushed hard enough to cut off her air supply. She struggled and thrashed her legs, panicked. The fair haired man glared at her with his teeth bared.

In a quick attempt, Hayley brought the heel of her palm up to the mans face and slammed it upward. The man cursed and stumbled back, his nose erupting with blood. Hayley used that moment to push him off of her.

"Fuck!" He swore, tenderly holding the back of his hand to his gushing nose.

Hayley looked to floor, gasping greedily for air. Her knife was only a few feet away but before she could make a move, the dark haired man raised his bow.

"Stop and put your hands where we can see them." He commanded.

Weak and out of options Hayley complied and raised both her hands. The mens' stares bore heavy on her.

"If you try anything, I'll shoot." He warned. The blond reached down and snatched up her knife after a head jerk toward it from his friend. He quickly tucked it into his waistband.

"Do you have a group?" The man with the bow questioned as the other man made work of checking the shot gun on the floor and looting its last bullet.

"No. Its just me." Hayley decided to go with honesty. She wondered if they'd take advantage of the fact she didn't have anyone coming to save her.

"Just you?"

"I can take care of myself." Hayley replied curtly. The man obviously doubted that she survived this long on her own. That thought struck a nerve inside her. She didn't need anybody.

The fair haired man scoffed.

"Jackson! Oliver!" The two men shared a look as voices from outside the cabin interrupted their interrogation.

Hayley swayed on her feet as her attacker grabbed her arm and jerked her out the door with them. The pain in her head radiated through her entire skull. She squinted as sunlight from the open door shined on her, her eye sockets throbbed with a dull ache just from seeing.

Emerging from the cabin, she immediately saw that three other men were making their way towards them from the tree line. Hayley swallowed as the image of her approaching doom washed over her in a chilling realization.

If they were going to kill her, Hayley would take it without complaint. Whether it be pride or just exhaustion, she wouldn't beg for her life. The bitterness that encompassed the thought that after everything she had been through, after everything she survived, she was just going going to be taken out by two random assholes made her suspect it was pride.

"We have to go now. Theres a hoard coming." One the men hurried out as he reached them.

"Fuck. What are we gonna do with her?" The blond haired man asked from behind her, still gripping her bicep.

"We'll figure it out back at camp. We have go." The man ordered, his dark shaggy hair moving as he shook his head.

"You wanna take her back to our camp?" Blondie protested back. Hayley stood awkwardly in the middle of them. Its not exactly like she got to have an opinion on the matter.

"We need to go."

The blond man scoffed and released his grip on Hayley, stalking in front of everyone. The dark haired man sighed and came to stand next to her. He placed his hand on her back and pushed her forward towards his already moving group.

"Look, I'm assuming you're a smart girl. You need to realize if you don't come with us you'll end up dead." He replied in response to Hayley's protesting.

Hayley moved away from his hand but reluctantly started running next him. She ignored the pain that shot through her head.

As the quickly maneuvered through the woods, the groans coming from behind them were getting louder and more daunting indicating the corpses had caught on to them and were now riled up and hungry.

Hayley was so focused on her thoughts and running that she almost didn't hear the man speak again.

"Im Jackson, by the way."


	3. strangers

When they'd finally slowed to a stop, Hayley had the chance to catch her breath as she took in their camp sight. The entire perimeter was lined with fishing wire that had empty cans and various metal objects tied to it. She hesitated as the others climbed over but followed suit when Jackson beckoned her to follow him.

"Who's this?" An older women walked to approach them. She mentally noted the knife hooked onto the woman's belt. From the looks of it, besides Hayley, she was the only women here which caused Hayley to bring her guard up even more.

"This is Hayley," Jackson introduced "we found her about two and half miles west of here."

"Its nice to meet you Hayley. Im Eve." Eve smiled. _Actually smiled._ Its been a long time since she's seen someone smile. Even longer to see one directed at her.

"Hello." She answered curtly. This women seemed sweet but in all honesty she just wanted to be left alone for the next decade. Or two. The throbbing pain in her head had only been worsened by all that running.

Seeming the notice her weariness Eve just smiled and let it go.

"Do you think ya can take a look at her, Eve?" Jackson asked the older woman.

"Of course."

"Do you want me to come watch her?" He asked Eve warily. Hayley suppressed an eye roll and crossed her arms. She wasn't going to attack an old woman.

"No need."

"Don't try anything. Eves tougher than she looks." Jackson warned Hayley as Eve motioned for her to began following her.

Hayley awkwardly walked behind her through the camp. Several tents were pitched and there was a lit fire in the center of the entire thing. Multiple foldable camping chairs were set up circling the fire.

"In here." Eve guided her into a fairly roomy tent. On the right side a quilt and pillow sat on top of a spread out sleeping bag and to her left were clothes, a large metal tub, a other random necessities.

"Just have a seat wherever you like." Hayley complied and sat criss cross on the tent floor at Eves instruction.

Eve rustled through her bag before pulling out various medical supplies. She came over and set them down next to her. Slowly she lowered herself onto her knees, seeming to do so with difficulty, in order to be taller than Hayley.

"How did you get this?" Eve asked as she gently moved Hayley's hair and examined her wound.

"I caught it on the corner of a table."

"Luckily you'll only need a few stitches." Eve assessed. "Probably got one hell of a headache though."

Hayley grimaced.

Eve went back to her bag and after another minute of rummaging she returned with a water bottle and three big white pills.

"You're gonna need these."

—

Forty minutes later they emerged from the tent. Hayley swayed on her feet as she stood up straight. Her head was spinning. After graciously waiting a little bit for the pain killers to kick in, Eve had sewed her up. It took every ounce of will power for her not to pass out from the pain of not being numbed.

And now standing up, Hayley wasn't sure she'd successfully managed to avoid doing so.

After Eve climbed from the tent she led Hayley back through the campsite. She led her towards a pitched red tent back a couple dozen feet from her own tent. She motioned from the tent to Hayley.

"Here. You need to lay down. I'll let Jackson know you're here." Eve instructed. Hayley immediately began shaking her head.

"I don't need to lay down. And frankly I don't think Jackson and his friend would like that too much." Hayley held up her hands defensively.

Eve raised an eyebrow.

"Im not here because they just decided to take me in."

"Hayley," Eve shook her head, " Get in the tent. Jackson will be 'round soon."

With that, Eve ushered her into the unzipped tent and zipped it back up when Hayley grudgingly climbed inside. She sighed as she heard Eves retreating footsteps.

As they finally faded away, Hayley looked around the tent she was in. It wasn't that big. A two person tent that housed just a single green and brown sleeping bag and her backpack she had took off and discarded to the side.

Ironically enough it was the most personal space she's had in months. She didn't even own a sleeping bag. She usually made use of locked storage closets when she needed to sleep. She had nobody to watch her back so sleeping became a dread for her and she hated when her body demanded it. She would push herself to exhaustion before finally giving in.

Hayley slowly laid back onto the sleeping bag. It rustled beneath her as she laid flat on her back and stared up to the tarp ceiling. She could hear talking in the distance along with the buzzing and hums of insects. The sun was nearly down and the last of the evening rays were hitting the side of the tent and illuminating it.

Slowly Hayley started to un-tense. Her back began to dully ache as the tension weeped out of it. Further down, her thighs and calfs burned from all the running she did today.

The pain meds were helping but her head was still hurting like hell. Hayley stayed like that until she heard Jackson approach.

"Hayley," Jackson spoke through the tarp walls. Hayley hurriedly got up to unzip it. He stood there with a plastic bowl in his hands and backed up to give her room as she crawled out.

"I brought you this." Jackson handed her the plastic bowl.

Hayley tentatively took the bowl. Meat. She looked at him suspiciously.

Giving her a tent till they knew what to do with her was one thing, but feeding her? It didn't make sense and Hayley wondered why they would give her this especially with how scarce food is now a days.

"What is this?"

"Its deer."

"No, I mean whats the point in stitching me up and feeding me."

"We'll discuss what we're gonna do with you in the mornin.'" Jackson spoke to her. His brown eyes bore into her hazel ones. "I suggest getting some sleep."

Jackson paused as he turned to walk away.

"We're not going to kill you." He said without turning around. He resumed on walking without waiting for her response.

Hayley stared at his retreating form for a minute before climbing back into the tent and zipping it up. With a glance at the bowl of meat she ultimately decided to not eat it and placed it on the floor next to the sleeping bag. She threw herself down with a huff and resumed laying on her back like she was doing before Jackson interrupted.

Not knowing what was going to happened to her was making her frustrated. She hated not being in control of her own fate and, even worse, having to listen to everything someone else says like a damn lap dog. Hayley mulled over the thought of sneaking out of the camp in the middle of the night. She was quickly doused with more frustration when she realized people were probably on watch at all times.

She tried not to be bitter at the fact they were probably all a group who looked out for each other.

The stabbing pain in Hayley's stomach was becoming more and more demanding by the minute and her thoughts began to drift to the food next to her.

Her mouth watered.

She gritted her teeth and sat up. She looked at the bowl for a second before grabbing it and bringing it up to her nose.

 _It doesn't smell funny,_ she noted.

Hesitantly, she picked up a piece and placed it in her mouth. Flavor exploded onto her tongue as she chewed. Her hunger made her eat it greedily, piling it into her mouth. If she wasn't starving she'd be embarrassed by how fast she ate it but the food felt too heavenly on her empty stomach for her to care. The only thing she was concerned with was not having enough of it.

As she placed the now empty bowl down, she scooted across the tent for her bag. She pulled out one of the water bottle she scavenged earlier and drank that greedily too.

Feeling satisfied, she moved back over to the sleeping bag and resumed laying down. She kept her boots on and didn't bother to get in the sleeping bag incase she had to wake up and run.

Her hands rested lightly on her stomach as her eyes fell closed and she listened to the outside world again. It was quiet, presumably because everyone had settled in for the night. She could hear the faint sound of bugs outside her tent again. Tennessee was still humid and all the bugs didn't go into hiding like they would up north.

Gradually the sound of the bugs blurred and Hayley submerged into a dark dreamless sleep.


End file.
